Never Knew I Loved You
by MickiStarlight
Summary: Amber always loved Sofia like a sister, but, during one fateful ride home from Royal Prep, she begins to see her in a new light... Ambfia, Oneshot


There was Royal Prep, shrinking in size as their carriage flew farther and farther away from it.

Sofia and Amber had just finished another day of school, though, this time it was without James. He claimed he'd gotten a cold and couldn't come, but Amber had her doubts. It wouldn't be the first time he excused himself from school so he could spend more time with Zandar, after all.

Amber turned and looked at Sofia, who was still looking out at Royal Prep as it got smaller and smaller. It was true that there wasn't much of an age difference between the two. Amber was seventeen and Sofia was sixteen, and Sofia's birthday was coming up too, so that meant both Sofia and Amber would be seventeen for a little while. That said, Amber had to admit that their relative closeness to each other in age wasn't immediately obvious if you were to look at them. Sofia had aged beautifully into looking very much like Princesses like Jasmine or Cinderella, figure-wise at least. It seemed Sofia was destined to become one of those famous Princesses, whereas Amber was just going to be a prop in her story. Like she was going to be remembered as 'Princess Sofia's Step-sister Who Wasn't Entirely Terrible.' With all this on her mind, she had half a mind to feel bitter at Sofia, but such a feat was impossible for Amber. Sofia was too lovable to hate, and Amber knew it.

Amber then blinked and she noticed how long she'd been staring at her step-sister. "That's odd... but understandable, I suppose. Sofia isn't exactly an eyesore." She thought to herself, before realizing what she was thinking, what she _had_ been thinking as she was staring at her, all while she _**continued**_ to stare at her. Her eyes widened as she realized all this, before she shook her head and decided to strike up a conversation in order to take her mind off of these... unusual thoughts.

"Do you think James is really sick?" Amber asked, suddenly. Trying her best to seem casual to the younger princess.

"... Hm?" Sofia replied. Diverting her attention away from the academy and toward Amber.

"Did you get that, Sofia? I asked you a question just now." Amber told her step-sister.

"Oh, um... no, no I didn't." Sofia admitted, with a bit of a sheepish grin. A blush permeating her face in embarrassment of her spacing out. "I was just thinking..." She sighed, dreamily. Her eyes looking back off to the distance as if she could see what she was thinking visualized right at that spot where she was looking.

"I see... What were you thinking about?" Amber asked.

"Oh you know, the one for me..." Sofia answered, unconsciously clasping her hands as she did so. "... Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, that's **totally** a princess thing to say." She apologized, laughing at herself and the princess-isms she had developed over the years she had been at Royal Prep and around the other princesses—including Amber herself.

Amber smiled sweetly at Sofia's adorableness, before mentioning that, "You know, just a minute ago I was thinking about how much you reminded me of the other princesses. The famous ones, I mean, not the other princesses we know here at Royal Prep."

Sofia gasped, "You really think so? Oh Amber, you don't know how much that means to hear it from you!" She then leaned over to the side of the carriage that Amber was in—the fact that there wasn't too much distance between them helping—to give Amber a very tight hug, causing the other princess to gasp in surprise. "You're the princessiest... 'Princessiest?' Is that a word? Probably not, but I'll make it one: You're the _princessiest_ princess I know, Amber, so hearing you say that I remind you of those princesses means the world!" Sofia exclaimed.

"Oh, well, um... thank you." Amber replied, blushing as she became very aware of that princess-like figure that she was thinking about and staring at, earlier.

"... That's right... I was staring at Sofia's figure earlier." Amber remembered. She was also starting to notice that she was getting a warm & fuzzy feeling in her chest, presumably due to the compliment she had just received from the auburn-haired princess that was hugging her tightly and... lovingly. "How come I'm noticing all this all of a sudden, what's gotten into me? I've never felt like this about Sofia... or anyone else for that matter, before..." Before she could delve further into her psyche, however, Sofia broke her out of her thoughts by breaking off the hug.

The princess with the lavender dress then sat back at her side of the two carriage seats. Shrugging her shoulders, clasping her hands together again, and tilting her head slightly as she asked, "So, who do you think yours will be?" Amber was beginning to see so many things she'd never noticed before about Sofia. Like how luscious her hair always looked, or how beautiful her smile was, especially when she was extra happy and she did that wide smile that she does. It was almost like she was meeting Sofia for the first time.

As she was realizing all that, she also realized that Sofia had asked her a question. "Wait, what?" She reacted. She then mentally replayed what Sofia had said, which lead her to ask, "You asked me who I thought the one for me would be?" That got her a nod of confirmation from Sofia—who looked very anxious to hear her answer. "Oh... I've never thought about that, actually." She admitted.

"You haven't? Ugh, it's all I've been able to think about for, like, the past three years!" Sofia exclaimed. She was only half joking when she said it, but she wouldn't have told Amber that, even if she asked. It was easier for Sofia to act like it didn't keep her up, some nights.

"Really? Then who do you think yours will be?" Amber questioned Sofia. Figuratively flipping the tables by asking her the same question she had asked her.

Upon being asked, Sofia blushed, and a big wide smile grew rapidly on her face as she shifted her eyes. "I...!" She started, before it devolved into her giggling uncontrollably. So much so that she was only able to stop when she needed to breath. It couldn't be helped, the irony of Amber asking her that question was just too much for her.

"Sofia? A-Are you all right?" Amber laughed. Sofia had the cutest giggle, she thought to herself. It wasn't too loud, but she could tell Sofia wasn't actively trying to make it like that, it was just naturally that adorable. Another thing on the growing list of things Amber was beginning to love about Sofia.

"I'm... I'm fine." Sofia answered, as her giggles were finally dying down. "... I think I have an idea who it'll be." She smiled, giddily.

Upon hearing Sofia's answer, Amber had another thought, "... Could Sofia be the one for me?" It was a strange thought that she wasn't used to having, that much was certain, as up until that day she only ever saw Sofia as a sister. Now... now, when she looked at the princess, she saw a beautiful young woman. It was all very confusing, but she knew she had to keep it together so Sofia wouldn't notice anything was up... but at the same time, she sort of wanted Sofia to notice, or at least get suspicious. She knew her knowing could end disastrously, but, like it or not, there was now a part of her that longed for Sofia to know.

Now she felt she needed to give some sort of answer, but what would she do? Would she be responsible about this and be ambiguous with her answer, would she tell her something that could cause her to suspect that it was her that she liked?... Would she lie to her? "... I suppose I _have_ been looking at someone differently lately." Amber finally admitted. Breaking eye contact from Sofia, hoping she'd notice it and take it the way she wanted her to.

Sofia's eyes widened. "Did she just...?" She wondered, inwardly. "If this is really what I think it is... Wassailia must've come early this year!" She thought, as that beautiful smile of hers showed up on her face. "I have to know for sure." She decided, before finally asking,

"So... what would you do if you were with that someone right now?"

"... U-Um..." Amber stammered, as she wasn't expecting her to question her about it... honestly, she didn't know what she expected her to do, and now fear grew in her heart. She couldn't be mistaken about her noticing either, as she herself noticed that Sofia had a look that seemed to imply that she knew something, or was curious to confirm a suspicion she had. Naturally she could read Sofia pretty well, having lived with her and gotten to know her for almost a decade now.

"She **definitely** noticed." The blonde princess concluded, silently. "How could I have been so foolish, now she's onto me, now she probably knows! What was I thinking?" She panicked. Immediately regretting ever thinking it was a good idea to answer the question in the first place, much less leave that obvious hint. She then snapped herself out of it and got thinking for a solution to the predicament she'd willingly gotten herself into. "I can still get out of this. I just need to... I just need to say something that I won't do to her so she'll think it's someone else... so I'll have to lie." She realized. She'd lied to Sofia several times in all the years they'd known each other, but now the idea of lying to her just felt... wrong. Granted, lying to Sofia—back when she saw her as a sister—never felt particularly _good_ either, but now it felt especially bad. Even so, she knew it was the only way to get Sofia to stop suspecting, so, in her eyes, it was what she had to do.

"... Well, I guess I'd just kiss them right here and now." She answered, finally.

"Oh..." Sofia reacted ambiguously, though, as Amber looked deep into her beautiful blue eyes, she could almost see disappointment in them. "... I didn't think you had _that_ in you, Amber. Very unladylike of you." She teased, trying to play it off as her being 'scandalized' by Amber's answer, instead of letting her disappointment show and saddening Amber as a result.

Of course she noticed anyway, and immediately Amber felt convicted. "Well... now that you put it like that, I don't think I would do that, actually." Amber stated, effectively taking back what she said without necessarily raising any suspicions.

Even so, Sofia took it in the exact way she hoped she wouldn't. Almost immediately after Amber had finished her sentence, she could see Sofia's face light right back up. "Ahh, alright then." Sofia smiled, mischievously. "Would you maybe... lie to her face?" She asked, leaning up close to Amber's face and looking her straight in the eye as she did so.

She knew. She definitely knew. Amber knew she knew, because she hadn't mentioned the gender of the one she thought was the one for her, and yet Sofia said 'her'. Her only chance of getting out now was to take Sofia's mind off of it and hope that she would just forget about it. She didn't have much time, so she had to think of something to change the subject fast, which was not an easy task, as she had to do so with Sofia's two enchanting blue eyes staring her down. "Um... Are you sure you're not that evil double of Sofia that the _real_ Sofia told me about awhile ago?" Amber joked. It wasn't the best she could've come up with, but it had to do.

Sofia was taken aback by the joke, as she moved away from being two inches from Amber's face and sat back down at her side of the carriage. She blinked, thinking of how to respond to such an odd, out-of-nowhere joke. "... Oh ha-ha, very funny. You know, Amber, if I didn't know any better, I'd be very offended by that." Sofia replied, jokingly, though she _was_ a little offended, if she was to be honest with herself.

Amber, however, could see through her little facade. She could tell by the hurt look in her expressive, light-blue eyes that her feelings had been harmed, which caused Amber to grow serious and apologize. Saying, "... Oh Sofia, you're right. That was mean and... and uncalled-for and... and I'm really, really sorry for it." As Amber apologized, she leaned in and hugged her. Hoping it would help in making amends. She wasn't just apologizing for the joke. In her mind, she was also apologizing for the lie she told her earlier, as well. Being dishonest with Sofia felt horrible, and she was not at all proud of herself for it.

"... Ohh Amber...!" Sofia let out as she returned the hug, "It's okay, I forgive you, it was just a joke anyway, and you're already more upset about this than I am." She laughed. She wasn't even that hurt by the joke, and here was Amber getting all torn up about it. She then grabbed Amber by the shoulders and pushed out of the hug so they were facing each other. "I'm fine, Amber. Really." She assured the older princess.

"Well... if you say so..." Amber conceded. She felt a little better, now that Sofia had forgiven her. And, even if she had to lie and tell a mean joke to do it, Sofia had her mind off of the previous subject. It was for the best, Amber told herself.

"Believe me, it's fine. I'm already over i-" Sofia smiled, before cutting herself off as she realized what Amber just did. "Ooh... that was really sneaky of you, Amber. Really sneaky!" She complimented, in faux-indignation. "I'll admit, you had me there for a moment, but it's over now. I can tell you're trying to hide something from me." She revealed, giving Amber a dead-serious look which caused her to grow very worried, before the look turned back into the same happy look she always had on her face. "Oh I'm just kidding, Amber. Of course you're not crushing on _me."_ She said, before adding, with a wink,_ "... _Of course, if you were, I'd totally be okay with it. I mean, we're not even blood-related, so it's totally cool and all... that is, if you were crushing on me. Which you _obviously_ aren't."

Amber didn't know how to react. After a whole carriage ride's worth of surprises, discoveries made about herself and her newfound feelings for Sofia, and a whole lot of moments where she was afraid that she would find out or just knew already, Sofia knew... and she was perfectly fine with it. In fact, she even seemed kind of interested in her as well. Finally, a feeling of elation overcame her, and she got up and hugged Sofia as she said, "I can't... you're so... I... Oh Sofia, please don't ever put me through that again."

"Aww, alright..." Sofia smiled, returning the hug. "... Would you believe me if I told you I've been crushing on you for years now?" She asked.

"... Well I've only known you for almost ten years now, Sofia. How can I not trust you enough to believe you?" Amber answered, eliciting a shrug from Sofia in response to the rhetorical question. "... You've certainly done a better job of hiding it than I have today." She added.

Sofia broke off the hug, though only because if she held on any longer it might've weirded Amber out. "Oh I don't know about that. I think you just haven't been looking for all the clues." Sofia replied, trying to think of instances where she might have noticed her feelings for her. "Like that one time no one had asked you out to that dance that was going on at the time, so I suggested that you just dance with me." She recalled.

"Really? You've been crushing on me for that long, then?" Amber asked.

"Maybe even longer. The whole time I was just freaking out because I was finally getting to dance with you for the first time since I realized I liked you. I know we danced before then, but... that time, it felt different. Even after acknowledging that you weren't looking for hints I'm _**still**_ shocked you never noticed how nervous and blushy I was..." Sofia reminisced, looking up at the sky as she did so. She then looked back down at Amber and thought about all that had happened between the two of them on this one ride... which led to her remembering something that was particularly hilarious in hindsight. Wanting to share it with Amber, Sofia asked, "... Did I ever tell you I met Cinderella?"

"You met Cinderella!? When did this happen?" Amber reacted in shock.

"Oh, well, it was back around the time I first came to the castle and everyone was put to sleep... I'm bringing this up because I'm just now remembering that she did a whole song about how we—'we' being you and I, of course—could be 'true sisters'." Sofia laughed.

"Wait, why was she singing to you about us?" Amber asked, curiously.

"I think it was because we weren't on the best of terms, so it was to get me to forgive you or something, I guess... but then how would she know we weren't on the best of terms?... I don't know. I was eight, so I wasn't asking questions like that back then..." Sofia explained.

"Okay, okay. That's, well... that's a little awkward, now, after we've pretty much both confessed that we like each other..." Amber said, frankly.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that. I'm sure Cinderella won't mind, as long as our love is true." Sofia reasoned, before another way to tease Amber came to mind. "... It _is_ true, right, Amber? You're truly in-love me, right? Right?" Sofia asked fervently, getting up in Amber's face again like she had many times during that ride home, earning a laugh from Amber as a result. Sofia accepted that as a 'victory' and sat back down.

It was then that the two noticed that they were finally arriving back at the castle. "Already?" Sofia gasped. Amber didn't say anything, but she knew Sofia knew they were both in agreement on that.

As it was almost time for them to leave the carriage, a burning question entered Amber's mind. A question that she desperately wanted to be answered, and would be answered, as she asked, "So... since we both know we both like each other, now, does that mean we're...?" She trailed off at the end, not knowing how to word it correctly, though it was pretty obvious what she was getting at, so she didn't worry about Sofia not understanding.

"Together?" Sofia said, finishing Amber's sentence for her, "Well, I love you, Amber. Do you love me?" She asked.

"... Yes, yes I do, Sofia." Amber smiled.

"Then it's settled. We're together now." Sofia smiled back.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> … Oh my gosh I hope this isn't too similar to Boom Goes The Cannon. XD

Alright, so this was partially inspired by someone who I would call a good friend—but hesitate in doing so because I don't want to be presumptuous or anything, Firelord515, and his wonderful Ambfia story, "Sofia the First: Strange Feelings", which you all need to read as soon as you can, because it's great (especially the newest chapter, seriously). Plus, I've been meaning to write an Ambfia Fic for awhile, so yeah, it all works. :)

The cover for this will come sometime. Knowing Du, it'll be awesome. In fact, right now I'm looking at the work-in-progress design for sixteen year-old Sofia and it's looking great! I think you guys are gonna love it when it's finished and I update the story with the cover... like, if you notice it. There's no notification for when the author adds a cover, as far as I know. XD

**Update:** And now there's a cover now! :D I think it looks great, I hope you do too. It was by Master DuWaul (who I mentioned one paragraph ago), not me, and I love how it turned out. :)

Lastly, thanks for reading this story! Any and all reviews, favorites, and/or follows are very appreciated as always. Hope you enjoyed it! :D


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